Federal judge rules Chicago gun sales ban unconstitutional

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy stands in front of a small
display of guns during a press conference in the Englewood neighborhood
on May 6, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois. McCarthy said Chicago police
confiscate on average more than 130 illegal guns each week.

CHICAGO - A federal judge has
potentially opened a new market to gun dealers after ruling as unconstitutional
Chicago ordinances that aim to reduce gun violence by banning their sale within
the city's limits.

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang said
Monday that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, it's also
obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and
bear arms for self-defense. However, Chang said he would temporarily stay the
effects of his ruling, meaning the ordinances can stand while the city decides
whether to appeal.

The decision is just the latest to
attack what were some of the toughest gun-control laws in the nation. In 2010,
the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago's long-standing gun ban. And last
year, Illinois legislators were forced by a federal appeals court to adopt a
law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons; it was the only state that still
banned the practice. The resulting law largely stripped officials in the city
and surrounding Cook County of their authority to regulate guns, which
especially irked officials in Chicago, where residents had to apply for
concealed-carry permits through the police superintendent.

About 4,500 requests for concealed carry
permits were submitted the first day Illinois' online application system was
open to the public, officials said Monday.

The applications submitted Sunday during
the system's first 24 hours of operation brought the total permit requests to
more than 11,000, said Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State
Police. The other 6,500 applications came in recent weeks, as the state allowed
firearms instructors to apply for permits early in order to help test the
online application system. Detailed information on what areas of the state saw
the most applicants wasn't yet available, Bond said.

"Right now we're pleased with the
ease of the process so far," she said. Bond called the number of
applicants a "pretty healthy number."

Roderick Drew, a spokesman for Chicago's
law department, said Mayor Rahm Emanuel disagrees with Chang's ruling and has
instructed the city's lawyer to consider options to regulate gun sales.

"Every year Chicago police recover
more illegal guns than officers in any city in the country, a factor of lax
federal laws as well as lax laws in Illinois and surrounding states related to
straw purchasing and the transfer of guns," Drew said. "We need stronger
gun safety laws, not increased access to firearms within the city."

Chang's ruling came in a lawsuit filed
by the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers and three Chicago residents.
The judge noted Chicago's ban covers not only federally licensed firearms
dealers, but also gifts among family members, all in the name of reducing gun violence.

In his 35-page opinion, Chang said he
understood Chicago enacted the gun sale ban to safeguard its residents.

"That is one of the fundamental
duties of government: to protect its citizens," he wrote. "But on the
other side of this case is another feature of government: certain fundamental
rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government's reach,
including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second
Amendment."

Chicago last year had more homicides than any city in the nation. City officials have long acknowledged the ban on
gun sales has been weakened due to the legal sale of guns in some surrounding
suburbs and states.

Chicago gun collector Kenneth Pacholski,
one of the plaintiffs, said he has no interest in selling guns and buys only
antique guns that he intends to keep. But he said Chicago's ban was
unreasonable.

"All the people I know who own guns
legally are really careful," said Pacholski, whose wife, also was a
plaintiff. "I'm a collector; my guns are not going anywhere unless I know
where they're going because I don't want to be responsible for someone's
death."

Illinois Council Against Hand Gun
Violence campaign coordinator Mark Walsh said he wasn't surprised by the
ruling.

"I'm not sure what the city's plan
is (following the ruling), but I think obviously there is a need to make sure
gun dealers coming into the city are aware of those who have restrictions on
gun ownership and don't sell to them," he said.